Psychedelic Integration Should be Somatic—Here’s Why.
How Somatic Experiencing® Supports Integration
Somatic Experiencing® offers a body-focused approach that directly addresses the physiological aspects of nervous system regulation, making it particularly effective for integrating psychedelic experiences. SE® helps individuals gradually release the excess energy trapped in the nervous system during these altered states, allowing for a return to balance and regulation, and completing the psychedelic experience.
Unlike traditional talk therapy, which primarily engages the cognitive mind, Somatic Experiencing® acknowledges that trauma, intense emotions, and even profound spiritual insights are stored in the body. These experiences need to be processed not just mentally but physically to foster lasting healing and transformation. While the mind may dwell in the past or future, the body is always present in the moment.
During a psychedelic journey, the boundaries between the conscious and unconscious mind blur, often bringing repressed memories, emotions, and bodily sensations to the surface. Without a method to effectively process and integrate these experiences, individuals might struggle with the aftereffects, finding it difficult to apply their insights to daily life despite their best intentions. This is where SE excels—it provides a safe, gradual, and effective method to process these intense experiences, preventing the nervous system from becoming overwhelmed again and enabling integration to occur in both the mind and body.
Why Somatic Integration is Essential
Integrating psychedelic experiences somatically is crucial for a few key reasons:
Embodied Insight: Psychedelics can provide profound insights, but for these insights to lead to real change, they need to be embodied. Somatic integration ensures that these insights are not just intellectual understandings but are felt and experienced at a bodily level, leading to more meaningful and lasting transformation.
Preventing Re-Traumatization: Without proper integration, the overwhelming nature of some psychedelic experiences can be re-traumatizing, especially for those with a history of trauma. SE® helps to safely navigate these experiences, allowing for healing rather than harm.
Supporting Nervous System Regulation: By working directly with the body and the nervous system, SE® helps to restore balance and promote resilience, making it easier to incorporate the lessons learned from psychedelic journeys into daily life.
Enhancing Resilience for Future Journeys: Somatic Experiencing® helps individuals build the capacity to stay present with difficult emotions and sensations, reducing the likelihood of being overwhelmed in future psychedelic experiences or other stressful life situations.
In the rapidly evolving field of psychedelic therapy, the need for effective integration methods is becoming increasingly clear. Somatic Experiencing® is one of many other somatic practices that can offer a unique and powerful approach to ensuring that the deep work done in altered states is fully processed, integrated, and embodied. By addressing the nervous system flooding that often accompanies psychedelic experiences, SE® not only supports healing but also enhances the transformative potential of these journeys, allowing individuals to bring their newfound insights forward, into their day-to-day life AND into future ceremonial experiences.
Do you have a psychedelic experience that still needs to be integrated?
Psychedelic integration therapy is especially helpful for individuals who had challenging experiences that felt overwhelming, confusing, or difficult, as well as those who had subtle journeys that left you wondering if anything even happened. My approach to psychedelic integration is holistic—guided by ancestral wisdom and grounded in Somatic Experiencing®, other somatic therapy modalities, specialized psychedelic integration training, and lived experience.
Plant medicines and psychedelics have played an integral role in my personal healing journey. As a South American woman with Indigenous roots, I hold deep reverence for consciousness-expanding tribal medicines. In addition to my extensive personal experience, I’ve received specialized training in preparation and integration from a Shipibo-trained medicine woman with over 20 years of experience serving medicine. She is also a trauma-informed somatic integration specialist.
